A law professor sorts out the issues in the Gen. Baker case at GITMO.
On November 1, at Guantanamo Bay, an Air Force colonel sentenced a Marine general to 21 days confinement and $1000 fine. Both the colonel and the general are jurists with different roles in the trial of a suspected al-Qaeda mass murderer. Which of the two senior officers is in the right? That’s what this column will endeavor to elucidate.
Source: Semper Fidelis: Guantanamo and The Ethical Dilemma of Gen. John Baker
A Pentagon official ordered the release Friday of a Marine Corps general who was sentenced to 21 days confinement to quarters in connection with a dispute over defense attorneys at the Guantánamo Bay military tribunals.
A Defense Department lawyer who heads up the military commissions, Harvey Rishikof, agreed to a “deferral” of the punishment imposed on Brig. Gen. John Baker by a military judge Wednesday afternoon, according to a court filing.
An attorney for Baker confirmed he was advised that he is no longer confined to his quarters at Guantánamo.”I have spoken with him and he has been told he is free to go,” Baker’s lawyer Barry Pollack told POLITICO.
Friday’s move came about an hour before a federal judge in Washington convened a hearing on a habeas corpus petition seeking Baker’s immediate release.
Source: Pentagon official releases Marine general confined in Guantanamo dispute – POLITICO
What is going on at GITMO? Recording attorney-client conversations? Jailing generals who disagree?
The U.S. Government has in their custody a bad, bad man and the military is doing its damnedest to screw up his trial. The attorneys were right to quit and Judge Spath needs to back the f up.
The Guantanamo Bay military tribunals on Wednesday won their first conviction without a plea deal since 2008. Only it wasn’t a terrorist who was convicted – it was a one-star Marine general sticking up for the rights of the accused to have a fair trial.
In defending the principle that attorneys ought to be able to defend their clients free from government surveillance, Brigadier General John Baker was ruled in contempt of court and sentenced to 21 days in confinement. He also must pay a $1000 fine.
Baker is a senior officer within in the highly controversial military commissions process: the Chief of Defense Counsel. Maj. Ben Sakrisson, the Pentagon spokesman for detentions, confirmed that Baker is being confined in his quarters – at Guantanamo Bay.
“The military commissions are willing to put people in jail for defending the rule of law,” Jay Connell, who represents another Guantanamo detainee facing a military commission, told The Daily Beast. “If they’re willing to put a Marine general in jail for standing up for a client’s rights, they’re willing to do just anything.”
Source: Gitmo Judge Convicts U.S. General—Because He Stood Up for Detainee Rights
An astonishing astronomical event is taking place. We are constantly shown that we have only the slightest idea of how the universe really works.
Some 500 million light-years away, in a galaxy so distant it looks like little more than a smudge, a star exploded five times over the course of nearly two years, spewing the contents of 50 Jupiters and emitting as much energy as 10 quintillion suns.
This isn’t even the first time this star has gone supernova: Astronomers believe this same body was seen exploding 60 years ago.
Somehow, this “zombie” star has managed to survive one of the most powerful, destructive events known to science — multiple times. It should make us question, researchers wrote Wednesday in the journal Nature, how much we really know about supernovas.
Bonus link to ARS Technica article with juicy astronomy details on this event.
City of Raleigh logo
Yesterday, the City of Raleigh approved its very first logo after working on it with a design firm for a year. Initially I was not so sure about the design since it appeared to be very antiseptic. As I’ve studied it more it’s grown (so to speak) on me a bit.
My comments is that the tree resembles the hated Bradford Pear rather than an oak that is part of our “City of Oaks” nickname. Nothing says quality like a smelly, brittle tree that collapses with the slightest breeze! The logo is also a bit more angular than I would prefer. Too many sharp edges, like a pile of green razor blades.
Bradford Pear
I can live with it. Not bad for a first try.
Now if Raleigh can refresh its flag…
